Clarizen Survey Says Employees in the UK Spend Up To 30 Per cent of Their Working Week on Status Meetings

65 Per Cent of UK Employees Who Participate in Conference Calls “Put the Me in Meetings”, Eating, Emailing and Multitasking During Calls

LONDON – 9 February 2016 – Clarizen, a global leader in collaborative work management software, today announced survey results that show UK workers spend as much as 30 per cent of their working week (assuming a 40 hour week) preparing for and attending status meetings – on average 11.5 hours per week. Preparing for these meetings often takes as long as the meetings themselves. Sixty-five per cent of UK workers who participate in conference calls report that they multitask during these calls. Additionally, 90 per cent of those who work with teams in multiple locations report being frustrated, most often by communication issues such as keeping everyone in the loop (20%) and communicating with the team (15%).

The latest Clarizen survey, conducted online by Harris Poll amongst over 2,200 employed adults ages 18+ across the UK, the U.S. and Australia, found that:

– 63 per cent of employed adults in the UK attend status meetings for updates on specific projects, spending on average 4 hours a week in these meetings
– 62 per cent of employed adults in the UK attend general status meetings, spending on average 3.7 hours a week in these meetings
– 59 per cent of UK employees spend time preparing for status meetings each week, spending an average of 3.8 hours each week preparing for status meetings
– 65 per cent of those who participate in conference calls with colleagues admit to taking care of other work-related or personal tasks whilst on mute during conference calls:

– 24 per cent respond to work emails
– 19 per cent eat lunch
– 13 per cent take care of personal emails
– 11 per cent visit the loo
– 7 per cent exercise
“Over three years of studying status meetings in the U.S., the results have consistently shown that they substantially decrease the amount of time and energy workers can devote to completing actual, meaningful work and this appears to be so in the UK as well,” said Paul Roberts, GM of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Clarizen. “Solutions that drive productive, collaborative work can make a dramatic impact on the efficiency of teams by focusing meetings on strategy and planning vs. boring status updates.”

Additional survey results:

• 37 per cent of employed adults in the UK selected “collaborative” as their ideal workplace culture, whilst 18 per cent chose a “hierarchical” structure
• Workers who participate in conference calls in the UK are more focused on those conference calls than those in the U.S.: Amongst those who participate in conference calls, 65 per cent of those in the UK and Australia admit to multitasking whilst on mute during conference calls, whilst 74 per cent of those in the US admit doing so.
• Amongst those UK workers who participate in conference calls with colleagues, 37 per cent say they wait on average more than five minutes for everyone to join the call.
Clarizen’s collaborative work management solution offers an alternative to status meetings. By simplifying work, reducing communication overload, and providing extensive visibility at any level of the enterprise, everyone on a team can work more effectively, adapt to changes and achieve their objectives. To see how Clarizen can reduce organisations’ reliance on status meetings, view a product tour here.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Clarizen between 7-11 January 2016, amongst adults ages 18+ in Australia (n=1,004), UK (n=1,061) and the U.S. (n=2,058), and specifically amongst those who are currently employed: 525 in Australia, 584 in the UK, and 1,120 in the U.S. A status meeting is defined as a meeting with updates for team members on completed and active work tasks. Strategy, brainstorming and company planning meetings are not included in this definition of a status meeting. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact: Jen Howard, Director of Corporate Marketing, Clarizen, +1.650.544.2937, jen.howard@clarizen.com.

About The Harris Poll
Over the last 5 decades, Harris Polls have become media staples. With comprehensive experience and precise technique in public opinion polling, along with a proven track record of uncovering consumers’ motivations and behaviors, The Harris Poll has gained strong brand recognition around the world. The Harris Poll offers a diverse portfolio of proprietary client solutions to transform relevant insights into actionable foresight for a wide range of industries including health care, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer packaged goods. Contact us for more information.

About Clarizen
Clarizen is a collaborative work management solution designed for people who value their time, and for organizations that value cross-company engagement. Built on a secure, scalable platform, Clarizen brings together project management, configurable workflow automation and in-context collaboration to create a meaningful engagement experience that allows everyone to work the way they work best. Everyone involved can track projects, communicate effortlessly and participate on their terms. When employees can connect to a larger and more meaningful purpose, progress is not only clear, it’s accelerated. Organizations of all sizes, across 79 countries already rely on Clarizen to help engage their people and move their business forward. The company is privately held with office locations including San Mateo (California), Tel Aviv and London.

Clarizen is a registered trademark and the Clarizen logo is a trademark of Clarizen Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.